How do pigeons navigate? Racing homing pigeons navigate incredible distances with apparent ease. A champion racing pigeon can be released 400 miles from its home loft, in a place it has never been before, and return within 1 day. The last 40 miles of its journey, the bird navigates by sight. But over the other 360…
Intro>>> Here is a very interesting article that talks about all the issues of racing pigeons. He stresses three very important points. First that in his opinion pigeons navigate very badly if on release the sun is not shining. He thinks that they need the sun to navigate by if possible. Second the wind direction…
>>>>intro>>> I think that the indigenous peoples have a lot to teach us about navigation as it is probable that they have not lost the art of navigation without modern aids and perhaps they can describe how they find their way. Please find an interview with Olle Utsi a wise Sami http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people The Sami / Lapps…
I am delighted that Stephen Durnford has agreed to provide us with this fascinating exposition of how Instinct might work. We at www.animalnav.org. are always searching to go beyond phrases that do not describe in detail how things work so Durnford by suggesting that instinctive behaviour is passed from generation to generation encoded in DNA (which…
Observations from the “Observer’s book of British wild animals” first published in 1938. It was compiled by W.J.Stoke. “I found this piece fascinating as it describes the navigational skills of Toads. There are also other works that suggests that Newts operate in a similar way, making long journeys out of the water but not getting…
The Cuckoo is one of the migrants we know least about once it leaves the UK, however the BTO track, on their amazing site, the movements of five Cuckoos from breeding grounds in East Anglia to their winter quarters in Africa. http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking Cuckoo tracking what we’ve learnt so far: http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/what-have-we-learnt Latest Cuckoo tracking news: http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/european-cuckoo-study…
Editor’s comments: Please find this extract talking about the Sami, the ancient aborigine people of Northern Sweden, Finland etc. We have sometimes called them Lapps see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people This extract comes from a book about the ancient lifestyle of these people and has been translated by our Deputy Editor Kerstin Williams who is working with us to understand the Sami people…